"Are you sure you're alright?" Luckily I had found my ability to speak, somewhat eloquently, once she let go of me. "Um, yeah, I'm fine." Okay, so I was no Shakespeare.
"You should be more careful. Who knows what would have happened had I not been here to catch you." She said as she continued up the stairs. If I had only known how very true those words were then. "Thank you…" I paused, realizing I had no idea what her name was. She turned around and put her hand out towards me. "Emma." I took her hand. "Well, thank you Emma…for saving me." I said with a smile and of course, again, I had no idea at the time just how much weight those words would hold. "It was my pleasure, Regina." She had yet to let go of my hand, but I was certainly not complaining. "I'm sorry, do we know each other?" She shook her head and smirked. "Not personally, but I know who you are. You're Dr. Mills' daughter." She answered in a somewhat mocking tone, but still with a smile. This happened more so than not. Everyone knew Cora and by association, everyone thought they knew me. Most times I would force a smile onto my face and simply nod, but there was something about her. Something I couldn't identify at the time. "That's actually how it's printed on my birth certificate; first name Dr. Mills' daughter, last name Regina." She let out a hearty laugh. "That must have been quite a third person mouth full for your mom." I too, found myself laughing. "She developed a complex over the years." I said as I realized her hand was still in mine. A comfortable silence fell between us and for a brief moment we did nothing but look at one another. I felt like I was in some sort of alternate universe. Over those next few months, that same feeling would pop up a lot when I was around Emma. Finally, I was pulled back into reality by the uproar of the crowd from the front of the building. I let her hand fall from mine and I immediately longed for the warmth that it had brought me.
"Um, again, thank you. I should…" I motioned towards the walkway at the bottom of the stairs, signaling that I needed to leave. "Yeah, I have to get up there. Apparently there's some kind of Greek rally going on." She said in a flippant tone. "Really? I hadn't noticed. Those sororities know how to keep a low profile." I smiled at her as I used my greatest weapon, sarcasm. In the back of my mind I remember thinking, what the hell am I doing? "Hey now, don't come down on us. We go all out for everything." She smiled what she would later refer to as her 'Gina smile'. "Right, well good luck with that." I replied with my own ridiculously large smile as I took a couple more steps past her. "Hey" She beckoned one last time. "Obviously you're not much for Greek life, but we're having this huge summer bash this weekend. It will be at the Carlyle House…" She held up the palm of her hand to silence my response. "And before you say you don't really do frat parties, it's not what you might think." She paused and smiled and suddenly she was the epitome of the college 'it girl'. "Fall term starts my reign as Zeta president and as president, I have decided to rid everyone here of the preconceived notions they have of sororities." I couldn't help but smirk. "And how do you presume to do that?" She took a step towards me and I drew in a deep breath as I looked into her eyes. They had become a darker shade of green in a matter of seconds. In one of the most disconcerting, yet somehow unbelievably sexy voices, she replied, "You will just have to come on Saturday night and let me show you." With that, she turned and continued on up the stairs and like a pre-pubescent, unfiltered teenager, I watched her go.
"No coffee then?" Cora asked as I reached the bottom of the stairs. Apparently my run in with Emma had taken a bit more time than I thought. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I ran into someone." I left out that I meant that quite literally. She smiled at me, "Yes, Emma Swan, she is a very smart young lady." I didn't realize that she had seen me talking to her. "Oh, did you have her in class?" I asked as we walked to my car. "Regina, I swear sometimes I wonder if you ever hear a word I say." Oh if she only knew. "Emma will be my teaching assistant for the summer courses. She's working on an English degree, but she's quite interested in philosophical thinking." Why could I not remember her telling me that? "I thought you always chose liberal arts based students to be your TA's." "For the most part I have, but Professor Nolan showed me a paper that Emma wrote for his Human Origins seminar. It was quite moving and incredibly well written. I only have 3 classes this summer and I thought it would offer her a bit of experience." "So, she wants to teach at the collegiate level?" I asked, suddenly much more curious. "I believe so, yes." "Is she going to apply for a GA position here?" Cora paused just as she reached my car. There was never a moment in my life when she did not know every passing thought I had. It drove me fucking insane. "Why don't you ask her, Regina? I have only met with her once." I took a moment to glance up at her as I put my key in the door and of course, plastered there on her face was her coveted all-knowing smirk. "What makes you think I will ever see her again? I'm just curious about your new TA. Can I not inquire about the student you'll be spending the summer with?" She shook her head and laughed as we got into the car. "Of course you can. Although, I have had 3 TA's a year for over 20 years and you have never once shown an interest in any of them." "Well, that could be because most of your TA's have been entirely too busy meditating over the meaning of life and whether or not you actually are a deity to interest me in any way." A hearty laugh filled my car. "That's quite true actually. Maybe that's why I chose her, this time. I'm a bit over the ass kissing." She said honestly. "It gets so boring. You know, within the first 10 minutes of my meeting with Emma she let it be known that she had read some of my publications, but that she didn't really agree with all of my theories. Apparently there are people who don't always share my exact thoughts." "What?! No, it can't be." I said as I placed the back of my hand on my forehead in mock despair. "It's true." "Well," I began. "Maybe both of you could benefit from working together." She nodded enthusiastically. "Oh absolutely, it's never too late to learn something new. I foresee this working relationship as being very symbiotic. Now, if we don't go to dinner soon, I may just have to call your bluff on wanting to spend the evening with your mother." I looked over at her and smiled. "I would never joke about such a thing, especially when it involves Indian food." I started the car and put it into drive. "Oh and by the way, Regina, Emma is single and, don't ask me how this came up, but she enjoys the company of brunettes." I knew without looking over that she was once again wearing that all-knowing smirk. "You are incorrigible." I said as I shook my head. "And you, my darling, need to stop lightening your hair."